Most small businesses start with someone who has an innovative idea, or at least the desire to build a business around what they do. In most cases, these entrepreneurs fall into sales out of necessity. You either figure out how to get more clients, or you fail.

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Our story started this way. Early successes led us to underestimate the power of mastering marketing and sales, both the skills and the […]

Most businesses seem to hit trade shows as if they are a necessary evil for lead generation. They do what is needed, but don’t try to stand out. At a time when budgets are tight and trade show attendance is dropping, is this approach wise?

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As I was walking through the Global Petroleum Show here in Calgary on Tuesday, I was struck by a few insights.

The key to being the ultimate survivor in business in an extremely competitive landscape is to have a strategic plan. These five components will help you thrive.

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Before I stopped watching television, I used to watch Survivor. One of my favourite scenes was an episode where Rupert stole shoes and other items from the other tribe, and then they used the pirated loot to trade for more useful – and untraceable – […]

Arsheen Dhalla has been busy doing remarkable work in Zanzibar through the Daraja Foundation. Daraja means bridge in Swahili. During one of her infrequent visits to Calgary, I had the pleasure to sit down with her and listen to her story. There are many stories to tell. For the second video in the series, we decided to focus on Amina’s business story.

One of the keys to strategic marketing is to make the best use of your limited resources for the greatest results. One of the most powerful drivers of marketing results is to define your ideal clients precisely.

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The best way to show how this works is to take you along on my latest journey to do just that for the online marketing services portion of our business.

The oil and gas industry is notorious for riding the boom and bust cycles inefficiently. When oil is over $80 a barrel, the profits are large enough companies choose to ignore innovation and spend on growth instead. The problems compound the faster you grow until you can’t survive below $70 per barrel.

When prices are low, there is a slash and burn reaction because the company was never set up to be efficient. Now, the money and resources are not there to support creating efficiencies. […]

When you make mistakes, it is best to learn the lessons they teach you. Sometimes the lessons are about something else entirely – like time management and inbound marketing.

Counting Potatoes

It all started when I was making my supper. I was a bit hungry and grabbed some baby potatoes to roast. I would usually eat one large potato or two medium ones. Baby potatoes are much smaller. Obviously, one large potato is the equivalent of about 50 baby potatoes.

There are two main camps in online marketing: business is business and business is personal. The first camp paints itself as impersonal, professional, and aloof. The second acknowledges that people do business with people. When done right, letting your humanity shine through your marketing messages increases social media engagement – without losing the professional touch.

3 Examples

Virgin is Human

If you are considering any of the companies in the Virgin Group, you will probably find the personality of […]